Thursday, February 28, 2013

Gazelle Intensity!

Tonight was the "Dumping Debt" lesson at FPU. It's my favorite lesson at the moment because I need the constant reminder to get that gazelle-like intensity Dave describes.

I have to admit I'm really looking forward to the day that we can officially say we're debt-free. Of course with our student loans it will be a lot longer than I like to think but I'm focusing on the more realistic goal of credit card and car loan debt first.

It's less frightening - I don't want to ignore the student loan debt of course, but the thought of being stuck for 7 or so years on Baby Step 2 scares me. We need to consider starting in on our 3-6 month emergency fund (Baby Step 3) as soon as we get the CC and car paid off, at the same time we're working on our Student Loans.

One of Dave's recommendations for paying of debt is to sell stuff. What though? I mean, honestly, what do you sell? We don't have much we could sell. There is only one piece of furniture that really crosses my mind when I think of what we have. Ugh, it's frustrating because I know we have a ton of junk. There has got to be something, but I can't think of what I might be able to get enough cash to make it worth it. Selling off a ton of our possessions for a couple hundred bucks doesn't really seem worth it to me. A couple thousand? Now we're talking.

What would you sell if you were in our shoes? Do you have any suggestions or experience to share?

In this lesson Dave also quotes the verse in the Bible that tells you what to do if you wind up in debt. It's where the gazelle analogy comes from and isn't one that I was aware of before FPU. Definitely worth memorizing!

2 comments:

What about looking at it not as making money to pay off debt but making money by selling things so that you don't go into more debt. Like say you have a piece of furniture you never use, maybe you can get $50 bucks for it. If you're like me it would be really hard to put a measly $50 bucks aside to put towards the credit card bill. But that $50 bucks would def save me when it comes near the end of the month and all my budgets are maxed but I really need to buy something. That $50 would be there for me to use instead of putting the really necessary purchase on the credit card.

Or if you don't have any items to sell maybe you could talk to family about helping them organize a garage sale, you do all the leg work, price everything, hang signs put all the stuff out and for your hard work you get half of the profits. I've heard of people doing that before!

Maybe you don't have enough stuff to sell to make a dent in your credit card but maybe you have a few things you could sell that could put a little extra cash in your pocket so that you don't use your credit card. That's one way to look at it.

Also, if you don't have enough items to sell maybe you could talk to family about helping them with their own garage sale. You price everything, you hang the signs and put the stuff out and for your hard work you get half of their profits. I've heard of people doing this!

Welcome

Hi! Welcome to my family's blog. I am a young wife, mom and librarian living in Oklahoma. My husband and I have one little boy (Nathan) and a brand new little girl (Madelyn). In September 2012 we finally did something we'd been meaning to do since we got married: took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace class. Now we're hooked and have signed on to be co-coordinators with our teachers. Eventually we will be taking on our own class by ourselves. We've dug ourselves into a lot of credit card and student loan debt and budgeting is not our forte so join me as I try to keep myself accountable by posting about our journey!

Nathaniel

Nathan (or Nate, as he prefers) is our first born, "smart as a whip", funny man. He is a sweet heart with a great sense of humor and we thank God every day for him. He is three years old, loves preschool and is excited to be a big brother!

Madelyn

We recently welcomed our little girl into the world this past September. I never thought I'd have a girl, always thought I'd be happy as the mom of all boys but this little one has stolen my heart in a VERY short time. I can't wait to share all of the "girly" things with her.

Scentsy

What is it??
I have recently started selling Scentsy, which are beautiful tart warmers that match every home's decor. My mother-in-law bought me one for my birthday and I fell in love. The best part is that you can host a party without really "hosting" a party. Check out my site to find out how!